ADB helps boost economic growth in north central region

ADB Board of Directors has approved loans totaling 149 million USD to help improve basic infrastructure and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth tin the north central coastal region of Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved
loans totaling 149 million USD to help improve basic infrastructure and promote
inclusive and sustainable economic growth that will benefit over 1 million
people in four provinces in the north central coastal region of Vietnam.

ADB’s assistance for the Basic Infrastructure for Inclusive
Growth in the North Central Provinces Sector Project includes a regular loan of
52 million USD and a concessional loan worth 97 million USD. Both loans will be
financed from the ordinary capital resources where most of ADB’s lending come
from.

The total cost of the project is 203.52 million USD, with the Government of Vietnam
contributing 54.52 million USD.

According to Eric Sidgwick, ADB’s Country Director for
Vietnam, Vietnam has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world
since 2010, with an annual growth average of about 6 percent as of 2015.

But growth has not been significantly reflected in rural areas, particularly in
the north central provinces, he noted.

“ADB’s assistance will help promote inclusive growth and bridge the development
gap by integrating cities and the rural areas in the region,” he said.

Economic development in the project provinces, namely Ha
Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri, has been constrained by the
fragmented coverage of basic infrastructure, with the 2015 poverty rate
reaching 13 percent compared to the 7 percent national average.

Moreover, the provinces are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and are
predicted to have the country’s highest increase in annual mean temperature at
1.7 percent and annual rainfall shooting up by 20 percent

To address these issues, the project will improve
connectivity among the provinces by upgrading and constructing about 214
kilometers of climate-resilient provincial and district roads, which will benefit
more than 900,000 people.

It will boost business development through the construction and upgrading of
rural water supply, flood protection, irrigation, and port services, while improving
the capacity of the provincial governments, particularly in public asset
management.

The project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2023.-VNA